Jazz Meets Art as Jazz Club scholarship winners play on Wednesday, July 13, 5-7 p.m.

Young Florida jazz musicians enliven juried gallery exhibition

by Florida artists at Art Center Sarasota, 707 N. Tamiami Trail

Sarasota, FL: “The Old Souls,” a young band of musicians who have each won scholarships from the Jazz Club of Sarasota in 2016, will perform, a swingin’ array of jazz standards on Wednesday, July 13, from 5-7 p.m. at Art Center Sarasota, 707 North Tamiami Trail. Tickets, available at the door, are $10 for Jazz Club members and $15 for non-members.

The young “Old Souls” are:

Bit Risner, trumpet and vocals, who is well-known as co-leader of the teenage music sensation Jazz Juvenocracy;

Liston Gregory III, piano, who began playing at Westcoast School and has toured internationally;

John Medico, Booker High School graduate, who plays drums and piano;

Jose Villalpando, bass, guitar and tuba, who is a graduate of Braden River High School and the Sarasota Orchestra Youth Orchestra.

Possibly some surprise guests.

Those attending the concert can also view Florida Flavor, a juried exhibition of 2-D and 3-D art work by Florida artists.

Each year, the Jazz Club of Sarasota awards scholarships to high school and college students who are serious about studying jazz. Over the course of 30-plus years, the Jazz Club

has granted approximately $200,000 to aspiring young jazz musicians in middle school, high school and college. Applications for 2017 will be available soon on www.jazzclubsarasota.org.

The Jazz Club of Sarasota—one of the largest and most active jazz societies in the United States—is dedicated to preserving, presenting and promoting jazz, America’s original musical art form. Founded in 1980, the Club has provided over 50 jazz-related events annually for more than 35 years. These include an ongoing concert series, Jazz at 2 concerts, an active scholarship program, the highly respected Sarasota Jazz Festival, Jazz on the Water cruises and a Satchmo award presented annually to a great jazz musician.